ArticlePloS one2026
Olive orchard intensification compromises soil water erosion control in a semi-arid environment.
Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Abstract
Olive cultivation is a key component of Mediterranean agriculture. Super-high-density (SHD) hedgerow orchards are expanding because they enable mechanization and early yields, yet their environmental impacts on semi-arid slopes remain insufficiently studied. We quantified soil erosion in a six-year-old SHD olive orchard in southwestern Sicily (15.6% slope) using δ13C depth profiles and erosion-pole height measurements, and we estimated the RUSLE cover-management factor (C) from field data and Sentinel-2 NDVI. The SHD orchard exhibited mean erosion of 29.4 Mg ha ⁻ ¹ yr ⁻ ¹, comparable to vineyards and markedly higher than rates reported for traditional olive systems. Canopy architecture provided ~38% ground cover, leaving ~62% bare soil, and frequent downslope tillage likely amplified rill formation and sediment redistribution. Independent methods converged on similar Cfactors (0.38-0.39), indicating limited erosion control relative to traditional orchards. These site-specific results suggest that SHD orchards established on semi-arid slopes can substantially increase soil erosion risk. Conservation practices such as permanent cover crops, mulching/pruning-residue retention, and contour-aligned management could reduce erosion while maintaining productivity..
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